The prices don't seem to really drop in Canada. I've been keeping an eye on prices all winter long and nobody is touching the price. I guess most people aren't desperate to sell around here.

I just have no money to work with or I'd consider an upgrade. Though I've actually been keeping my eyes out for a Gold Wing instead. It'll probably end up being 20 years old, but should be a much better fit for my region (and motorcycle club).

Instead, I'm investing a bit in upgraded gear. My helmet is 4 years old (I thought 5 when I ordered, but fuck it). I'm replacing it with a Snell 2015 certified Scorpion EXO R2000. It looks much slicker, and has much better features. I'm looking forward to the decreased wind noise, neutral on the double D-ring, and dreading the loss of a retractable Sun visor.

My finacee ordered a helmet two nights ago so I guess that means she's going to want to go with me this year. She still has a bit of additional gear to get before I'll allow that, but we'll see what we can afford by Summer. Sounds like we're planning a road trip to visit a large gear retailer.

I need new pants because my Kevlar jeans have shrunk (and I've gotten fat ). I want to replace my gloves because the leather is stiff, the Velcro doesn't stick, and they don't cover my wrists.

I'm probably going to try to afford an Airhawk cussion for me and the misses too. If it gives me extended range on the bike that will be money well spent.

I ride a lowly Honda Metropolitan scooter since cars are too expensive and I didn't have a motorcycle endorsement when I got it. I still don't, but I didn't then, either. Would love a Genuine Buddy 170i, but no one nearby sells Genuine scooters so I haven't had the motivation to get an endorsement. Maybe in the future...

I recently had to get new gear because I lost a lot of weight over the past year. I really want a certain leather jacket, but it costs $500, so I settled on a cheaper one I could buy in a local shop. It looks decent, but I need to cover the logos with patches.

Want to get some good riding jeans when summer rolls around. Going down in pant sizes every few months was a pain so I went with some under-armor, more affordable although less safe I suppose.

I laid down my little Suzuki Marauder GZ250 a few weeks ago. The roads were really salty and I hit the brakes a bit tough, not realizing my wheels were covered in salt. Put myself in a bad situation really, approaching a yellow light and opted not to run it because a police officer had just went through. Front tire locked up and down I went. Learned my lesson... but I also scraped up my knee pretty bad, so I'm considering going with an armored one piece suit instead of wearing just jeans and an armored jacket.Right now I'm looking at an Olympia because of the price/value seems what I want... but haven't actually tried anything on yet.

2005, it's got only 25 000 km on the clock but a bit of a spotty service record so I'll be doing the 24 000 km service before the summer. The difference between work and play is that on playtime I don't get paid for getting my hands dirty wrenching on something.

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I just have no money to work with or I'd consider an upgrade.

I thought there was money to be made in IT, and here I was wrenching separators and programming process controllers and thinking those IT motherf***ers were swimming in gold.

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Though I've actually been keeping my eyes out for a Gold Wing instead

The dealer I bought the GSX-R from referred to a Gold Wing he had on sale as an 'open top Civic'. Ha was kidding of course. A Gold Wing weighs MUCH more than a Civic.

You know that a Gold Wing is so yuuge you need a sea captain's degree to ride it on the roads and a maritime pilot to park it?

I could go on and on but because you're obviously hitting mid-life crisis now, before I was done ragging on the Gold Wing you wouldn't be listening because on average I would only have about 30 years before you die of old age.

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I'm replacing it with a Snell 2015 certified Scorpion EXO R2000.

Looks clean. I'll be still using all the gear I bought when I had the SV650s, including the AGV Stealth SV. I have to sweat off some 10kg but it's doable.

I'm not entirely happy with it, I like the fit, the style and the features (kevlar-glassfibre shell, integrated sun visor and proper, functional cooling that's isn't always a certainty at that price range) but turns out AGV's are loud and there's nothing you can do about it. Lucky me, the dairy I work at is getting rid of all of the disposable earplug dispensers, so I reckon I could get a huge pile of ear plugs for pennies. Once I run out of earplugs or the Stealth SV starts to delaminate, I'll replace it.

Get leather. Leather doesn't flutter and it actually has abrasion resistance. Better yet, get a 2-piece suit that you can zip together from the waist. That way you get 95% of the benefits of a 1-piece suit (the last 5% comes to play if you take a tumble at 200km/h), 100% of a leather suit (anything leather is always better than anything fabric) and a leather jacket to use with a pair of kevlar jeans.

I have a pair of kevlar reinforced jeans, a nice 70's style retro faux aged leather jacket and a 2-piece suit (image stolen off ebay). Also a pair of riding boots (nothing fancy, just a sort of sport touring style of boots) and leather gloves and some fat fabric gloves for those extra cold days. Everything but the gloves and helmet I bought second hand.

The 2-piece is a bit cheesy with the tribal-esque styling but check out the blue jacket.

Right now I'm looking at an Olympia because of the price/value seems what I want... but haven't actually tried anything on yet.

Did you happen to watch the video on Revzilla? They postulate that it will be too hot in the Summer. If you plan to ride in the Summer and can't afford a second pair of gear you may want to reconsider. Waterproof is nice. It would be ideal for wet months, but I can see how it might be too hot in the Summer, and if your gear is uncomfortable you won't wear it and that defeats the whole purpose.

The dealer I bought the GSX-R from referred to a Gold Wing he had on sale as an 'open top Civic'. Ha was kidding of course. A Gold Wing weighs MUCH more than a Civic.

You know that a Gold Wing is so yuuge you need a sea captain's degree to ride it on the roads and a maritime pilot to park it?

I could go on and on but because you're obviously hitting mid-life crisis now, before I was done ragging on the Gold Wing you wouldn't be listening because on average I would only have about 30 years before you die of old age.

Since I've been in a Gold Wing motorcycle club since I started riding I've seen my share of them: parked, riding down the highway, riding down the back roads, getting serviced, etc. They're nice bikes. They're not cheap. And that's probably what will hold me back for another decade or so. But they're worth every penny. Boat loads of hard, lockable storage, all the luxuries available including cup holdlers, and their performance specs aren't too shabby either.

I haven't hit mid-life crisis yet. I'd readily be looking for a 600 class instead, and still sort of am, if I didn't have a fiancée that wanted to come along. She might be able to ride on a sport bike, but she'll be a lot more comfortable on something like a Gold Wing, and so will I. We just might find out if she's able to tolerate the pillion seat of a "sport" bike this season, and if that's the case I might put the Gold Wing off longer. She says she wants to ride on a sport bike, and my 500 doesn't even qualify, but I don't think the comfort gets much better on the real thing and I think her mind will change when her buttock is killing her and we have to do it all again to get home.

I know from experience that a sporty bike begs to go fast, but there's nowhere to go fast where I live. No tracks that I can take it to. In my neck of Canada, no highways over 100 km/h. In my neck of the US, no highways over 70 mph (~115 km/h). It's hard enough not to speed on my 500. At least with my 500 I can actually twist my wrist and rip through a couple of gears without police calling in backup. Though if memory serves I can still reach 100 km/h in 2nd gear.

It seems a lot of guys replace the 500R rear suspension with that of a GSX-R 600. Apparently it's possible without much/any modification. Most of the mods people do seem completely retarded (my bike is stock after 4 seasons), but that one actually is tempting. It's said that it greatly improves the handling, but I'm not sure that I'd really notice with the riding that I do. And there's a certain peace of mind in having a stock bike.

I think her mind will change when her buttock is killing her and we have to do it all again to get home.

A CBR600F4i (the ones with the single long seat, not the ones with separate seats) actually has pretty comfortable passenger seating for a sport bike (especially if you get a hard case for some extra support so the passenger doesn't have to constantly lean forward), they handle like a proper 600 should though they're not as aggressive as a GSX-R or CBR600RR, and since they're no longer new they can be had for pennies. They're known for their reliability so you can ride one to the world's end and back with just regular maintentance.

Trade in your CBR500 for a F4i and you'll get more power, better handling and a good wad of your dough back.

Unfortunately, trade-in for my 500R is only about CAD$2000 from the dealership (locally anyway). In the private market I might be able to break even if I'm lucky, but insurance might kill me still. It's something to think about. I emailed a guy on kijiji that's looking to trade for a smaller bike. It's a 2000 though and not sure it's an "i" (is that for fuel injected?).

My thing is I don't have much experience with trades or sales and don't know what to look for. It's a bit difficult to sell my bike and then find a replacement without losing riding time. And, as with the above ad, I'll probably have to travel 500 km to get to even see it in person. Time off and money to burn are not things that I have an abundance of.

Welp, I've discovered that the F4i did not come with ABS, presumably any year. While I found it fun to tempt fate with my CBR500R getting a no-ABS model, and that doesn't bother me, I am leaning towards getting an ABS model next time around. Especially for a super-sport class bike. I've had my fair share of "OH FUCK" moments, even on a 500 with only 47 hp, and I know that it's scary trying to manage the brakes with a very tiny patch touching the road when the result matters. The 18 year old in me thinks nothing of it, but the 80 year old in me thinks I should buy a scooter instead. The 30 year old thinks ABS is a reasonable compromise.

Get leather. Leather doesn't flutter and it actually has abrasion resistance.

I'm not a big fan of leather, in large part because of the price. If I found one for the price you managed I'd probably snap it up. Not having any ventilation does concern me a bit. I do find that my current gear, which is textile/armor, is a bit big on me and does flutter a bit at 70kmph+. I suppose in high wind at higher speeds it could be an issue, but it doesn't affect me a whole lot at the speeds I ride (mostly around town and out on 80kmph roads).

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(the last 5% comes to play if you take a tumble at 200km/h)

I definitely wont be reaching those speeds at all -- I'd be shocked if I were ever to hit 140kmph. I'm not much of a speed demon.

The blue jacket has a great style, but I'm really looking for something brightly coloured, which leather tends not to be as well...

Did you happen to watch the video on Revzilla? They postulate that it will be too hot in the Summer. If you plan to ride in the Summer and can't afford a second pair of gear you may want to reconsider.

Although he says it would be warm in the summer, it looks much cooler on the upper area than my current gear. I suppose I would worry most about my butt and crotch getting warm. Definitely just getting one set this year, but I do think the vents look adequate. I do want to try one on so I'm not really sure yet.

I find my current jacket pretty cool despite being thick and having fewer and smaller vents. The sales guy warned me it would be a little hotter than some of the others, too.

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if your gear is uncomfortable you won't wear it and that defeats the whole purpose.

I'd always rather be a little uncomfortable than dead

We'll see where I go. It might be the end of the month, or beginning of next, before I actually get around to buying a new suit.

There is a whatsapp video where a guy crashed he bike and it rip both of his legs from the sockets like a action figure not to mention it deflated his head as well. his racing protection did not protect jack shit.

That's dark. Motorcycle gear cannot protect you from everything. Neither can a car, but a car is still a bubble of plastic and steel and air to cushion the "fall". Motorcycle gear is mostly for surviving abrasion as you slide down the highway 500 meters. It can't do much about collisions. If you hit something hard hard it's going to do physical harm to you. Even if it doesn't bruise the outside, your insides are going to collide with your outside and that in itself could be life threatening or crippling. Best you can do is be responsible, do your best to avoid collisions, and "pray". Or just don't ride. It's a gamble. But most things in life that are worthwhile are. And the risks can be managed to make it less of a concern. Relatively few motorcyclists in developed countries will experience that bad of an accident in their lifetime, and many of those that do asked for it by riding like an idiot. Lots of people go their whole lives riding without any mishaps, but you can't count on that so you need to do what you can to be prepared for the worst.